About Seth Taft, III

"...Taft, Seth – (Captain of the 8th Ten) Born Aug. 11, 1796, in Mendon, Worcester Co., Mass., to Seth and Staples Taft. He married Harriet Ogden in Michigan in 1826. Missionaries converted his family in 1841 and they moved to Nauvoo. In the trek west, he was among the advance company that arrived in the valley July 22, 1847. After arriving, he helped locate a site where potatoes, beans, corn and buckwheat could be grown. He began his trip back to Winter Quarters on Aug. 17, but on Sept. 4 he arrived at the Little Sandy Creek in Wyoming, and turned around when he met Daniel Spencer's company, which included his wife, who had driven an ox team across the plains. A year later he was ordained bishop of the Ninth Ward in Salt Lake City. He was called to settle the Manti area but lost his cattle during a severe winter. He returned to Salt Lake City and resumed his duties as bishop of the Ninth Ward until 1856 when he was ordained a patriarch. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 23, 1863, at age 67..."

Seth Taft came into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake with Orson Pratt's advance company and was a member of the committee appointed to select a place for the planting of potatoes, corn and beans. About 11:30 on the morning of July 22nd 1947 he, with others, reported that they found a piece of firm, fertile soil 40 rods by 20 rods for potatoes, and a suitable place for beans, corn and buckwheat, which they had staked off. Two hours later plowing commenced a short distance northeast of the camp.

An Enduring Legacy, Volume Three, p. 112

Seth Taft, son of Seth Taft, Sr, and Lydia Staples, was born August 11, 1796, in Mendon, Worchester County, Massachusetts. In early manhood Seth, Jr., moved to Michigan. There he met and married Harriet Ogden in 1826. They made their home at St. Clair and, while they resided in that area, two daughters were born. In 1841, two Mormon elders came to their home with the message of the restored gospel. Soon thereafter the family became members of the new church. Seth then became active in the branch and was ordained an elder.

In the fall of 1845, the family migrated to Nauvoo to join with the Saints in their new Zion. However, in the spring of 1846, Seth and Harriet found it necessary to return to Michigan to attend to some unfinished business. Expecting to be gone for some time, they arranged to leave their two daughters, Elmira and Elizabeth, with their friends Chauncey and Eliza Webb. During this time, many men of the Church were being advised to take a plural wife. When the Webbs were counseled that Chauncey should take a second wife, they decided to ask Elizabeth Taft. After much deliberation and with the advice of Brigham Young, she accepted, requesting that the marriage be postponed until her parents returned. But it was decided that it would be best to go ahead. When the Tafts returned they were upset and shocked at the turn of events. Later they were converted to the idea and accepted the marriage.

When the Saints left Nauvoo, Seth Taft and his family went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he was selected to be a member of the first company to make the western trek. Upon their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, Seth was a member of a committee of men chosen to prepare the land and begin planting potatoes, beans, corn and buckwheat.

August 17, 1847, when the return trip to Winter Quarters was begun, Seth was a member of the party. On Saturday, September 4, upon arriving at Little Sandy, the company was pleasantly surprised to meet a caravan of people from Winter Quarters, among whom were Seth's wife, Harriet, and daughter, Elmira. He returned to the Valley with them, thereby becoming one of the families who spent the winter of 1847 in the Salt Lake Valley.

February 22, 1849, he was ordained the first bishop of the Ninth Ward and March 12 of the same year was chosen magistrate of the same area. In October, 1849, he was sent to help with the colonization of Sanpitch Valley at Manti, but returned to Salt Lake City in 1850, having lost all his stock during the severe winter. At this time he resumed his duties as bishop of the Ninth Ward and continued in this capacity until 1856. He was subsequently ordained a patriarch on April 18, 1861. He died November 23, 1863, at the age of sixty-seven, survived by two wives and four children. — Olivette Goe Henry (bio by: SMSmith)